Picture this.

It’s December. It's a dark, chilly evening.

Your kid logs into their college admissions portal. You're trying not to hover or eavesdrop. Yet, here you are.

They click “View Decision,” their hands shaking, their stomach in knots.

The page struggles to load...Then, finally, you see the words:

"We regret to inform you…"

Maybe they don’t even finish reading. Maybe they slam their laptop shut, fighting back tears...while their friends celebrate acceptance letters from their dream schools.

Now you’re the one feeling sick. Could this have been avoided?

I won't pull punches. The answer is YES.

This year’s admissions cycle has been an absolute bloodbath.

Record-low acceptance rates

An explosion of applicants (even safety schools are rejecting top students)

Families losing out on five-figure scholarships because they didn’t know how to play the College Funding Game

But still…some students somehow beat long odds, and get in.

Many, “less qualified”. 

And thousands...

From the Never a Dull Moment Department:

Last week the big news was about the horrible glitches on the most recent SAT.

That was last week.  As of yesterday, we're dealing with close to 2,000 layoffs at the Department of Edumacation and what they mean for you if you're looking for financial aid.

Tonight, we're running an open Q&A about the SAT debacle, but anything goes, so bring ANY of your test prep, college admissions, financial aid or other related Q's about what this means for your kiddos, and we'll do our darndest to provide A's.

Here's the sign up info:

Live Q&A Registration

- Andy "Breaking College News" Lockwood

P.S.  Please feel free to pass along this invitation.

Have you heard about the recent disaster with the SAT?  (Answers being submitted before the student was ready, more.)

We're also hearing about problems with the rollout of new digital ACT.  The fun never stops.

Join me and our head tutor, Marissa U, for a brief overview, discussion and plenty of advice about how to cope with these issues.

It's tomorrow, Thursday, May 13. Details here:

Learn more...

- Andy "College 911" Lockwood

P.S.  Please feel free to pass this invitation onto any of your friends who could use this information.

We're hitting the airwaves NOW!

You can still join our workshop,  How to Legally "Print" Scholarships On Demand, 

Hope you can make it!

-Andy "'Almost Ready for Prime Time" Lockwood

P.S.  Topics for tonight, In just a few minutes:

 How any family -- even high income earners -- can slash college costs by more than 56%

 The strange and unsettling truth about the 529 College Savings Plan 

 How to squeeze a few more (thousand) bucks out of a college after it's so-called "final" offer

 The oddball, counter-intuitive reason why a high sticker price private college can cost less out of pocket than a "cheaper" state university

 The crucial, overlooked, make-or-break factor that dictates whether you will win boatloads of scholarships, or get "bupkis". (Best guess is that 99% of families and guidance counselors overlook this or have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Tonight's the night if you've taken a look at exactly how much college tuition for all of your kids will actually cost you, and you've broken out into a cold sweat, feeling like you're about to lose your lunch.

Tonight, I'm running a new online workshop, How to Legally "Print" Scholarships On Demand, and you're invited!  Yay.

(You can even forward this invitation to your friends, who will owe you a debt of gratitude until the end of time).

Here's what awaits you when you join us tonight:

 How any family -- even high income earners -- can slash college costs by more than 56%

 The strange and unsettling truth about the 529 College Savings Plan 

 How to squeeze a few more (thousand) bucks out of a college after it's so-called "final" offer

 The oddball, counter-intuitive reason why a high sticker price private college can cost less out of pocket than a "cheaper" state university

 The crucial, overlooked, make-or-break factor that dictates whether you will win boatloads of scholars...

A simple email helped one family save $26,400 at Holy Cross. No begging, no sob stories—just knowing how to play the game.

(Well, maybe a little begging.)

I'm tee'ing up a new workshop, "How to 'Print' Scholarships on Demand" tomorrow night, to show you exactly how to slash your tuition bill by 56.1%. Here’s the theory of the case:

You do NOT have to pay full price for college—even if you’re “too rich” for aid.

Spoiler alert: you're not. Paying Full Boat is a CHOICE, not an obligation.

I’m offering a free, no-BS workshop. On this call, will discover:

Why your financial aid officer is NOT your friend (And why trusting them will cost you bigly)
How to “guilt-trip” colleges into giving you more money (Even if you don’t “need” it)
The double-secret financial aid formula (And the hiding in plain sight "loopholes" you can use to shelter your savings from the financial aid office)

Broadly speaking, there are two types of families this workshop is for:

Six-figure earning famili...

Think you make too much for financial aid? Think again.

Most scholarships and aid actually go to high-income families—but colleges won’t tell you. They’d rather you shut up and write the check.

Join my free webinar, “How to Print Scholarships on Demand,” and I’ll show you how to slash your tuition bill by 56% or more, even if you think you can't possibly qualify for any type of aid.

Live on Wednesday, March 5
Register here:  https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/lockwood-workshop

When you attend this free workshop, you’ll discover:
Why paying full price is for suckers (And why most people who do are clueless)
The secret formula colleges use to decide how much to gouge you
How to turn an empty, "Where's the beef??" award letter into a cash offer, only a little bit of groveling required

You have nothing to lose by attending this free workshop...

...except tens of thousands of dollarinos in tuition!

I hope to see you there!

Learn more...

- Andy "Here's The Beef" Lockwood

P...

I just wanted to make sure you saw this because we're all busy and things can easily slip through the cracks.  

The clock is ticking.

At MIDNIGHT, this "Early Action Scholarship" deal is gone.

After tonight:
No more $3,495 pricing—tuition jumps back to $5,995
No more extra seats—we will shut the door
No more last-minute begging for an extension—I can’t and won’t make exceptions (hey, that's how college works: no Early Decision extensions, no FAFSA deadline re-do's)

So at this point, the real question is:

Are you willing to roll the dice? Are you really OK taking...

The risk that your child’s essays won’t be strong enough to land an acceptance?
The risk that they’ll lose out on a five-figure merit scholarship because they weren’t positioned for aid correctly?
The risk that when decisions come out, they’ll be staring at rejection letters… while their friends celebrate?

Or…

Do you take action now, lock in your seat, and make sure your child has every advantage possible?

...

I have good news and bad news for you!

The good news:

You still have a few hours left to grab one of the last seats in the College Application Edge Bootcamp at the $3,495 discounted price.

The bad news?

This offer slinks out of the room in a few short hours.

If you wait any longer, you’ll have two choices:
Pay full price later ($5,995) like the families who missed this deal.
Try to “DIY” this process… and hope for the best.

Personally, I wouldn’t gamble my kid’s future on hope.

And I KNOW you don’t want to be sitting in the kitchen in August, September, October and maybe all the way through December, screaming at your kid to finish their applications before the Early Decision, Early Action and Regular Decision deadlines.

Do yourself and your kid a favor, preserve your relationship during the most stressful, high-stakes period of their young lives. Make the smart move today.

 Head on over here to get all the details and grab your seat before the promo disappears.

Learn m...

Are you rolling the dice on your child’s college future?

Be honest.

Because right now, some parents are making the fatal mistake of “waiting to see how things go.” They think:

"We’ll just see how junior year plays out…”

"Maybe we’ll get our guidance counselor to help in the fall…”

"We’ll worry about scholarships later…”

And then suddenly, it’s October. Deadlines are weeks away. Their child’s essays are a disaster.  Or, worse: unwritten.

And by then? It’s too late.

Every year, I get panicked emails from parents BEGGING me to step in at the last minute.

"Andy, is there ANY way we can get help now?? I should have called you last spring."

And I have to say no—because at that point, there’s only so much we can do: we're maxed out with students, unable to squeeze anyone else in, at any price (oh, the stories I could tell.  Such entitlement out there! :)

You can prevent this easily avoidable, self-sabotaging situation RIGHT NOW.. And pat yourself on the back for taking care of this...